what does this have to do with the thread title. yo im not arguing against any of our recent draft picks or FA signings, by any means. but putting this dude and god in the sentence is wrong (not only from a religious standpoint). yall need to chill on the holy references and give more props to the players.

what does this have to do with the thread title. yo im not arguing against any of our recent draft picks or FA signings, by any means. but putting this dude and god in the sentence is wrong (not only from a religious standpoint). yall need to chill on the holy references and give more props to the players.

Click to expand...

Your question was 'have we one a championship' which the answer was yes. My reply had nothing to do with religion.

what does this have to do with the thread title. yo im not arguing against any of our recent draft picks or FA signings, by any means. but putting this dude and god in the sentence is wrong (not only from a religious standpoint). yall need to chill on the holy references and give more props to the players.

Click to expand...

AJ is very forgiving, so he will not punish you for your blasphemy, but not all of his followers are as perfect. So be careful of how you disparage him, for it is He that brought us the One, and it is he that will bring us the Lombardi.

AJ is very forgiving, so he will not punish you for your blasphemy, but not all of his followers are as perfect. So be careful of how you disparage him, for it is He that brought us the One, and it is he that will bring us the Lombardi.

AJ is very forgiving, so he will not punish you for your blasphemy, but not all of his followers are as perfect. So be careful of how you disparage him, for it is He that brought us the One, and it is he that will bring us the Lombardi.

Warren Buffet is to billionaire investors what the NFL is to sports — rich and powerful.

When he says, as he once did, that "a public opinion poll is no substitute for thought," you're inclined to think the Oracle of Omaha must know what he's talking about. (If in doubt, you could always take a poll, for what it may or may not be worth.)

Anyway, it came as a bit of a shock to see an online poll conducted by CBS's Sportsline entering yesterday's round of NFL play. Visitors to the website were asked: "Who is the best team in the AFC?"

If you said the Indianapolis Colts, who went into last night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a conference-best one loss and who have been dominant dating back to well before this season, you'd be wrong. Surprised?

Football fans spoke and some 20,000 of them said (albeit in an unscientific fashion) that they believe the best team in the AFC is none other than the San Diego Chargers. Roughly half backed San Diego, to 25 per cent for Indianapolis, 12 per cent or so for New England and a smattering of support for each of Baltimore, Kansas City and Denver.

But it is not only the unwashed pigskin masses who believe that the Chargers have been emerging, flying a little under the radar of love-and-hype this season. The experts have been paying attention, too, including former Steelers fullback Merril Hoge, who was quoted the other day as saying: "The Chargers are the benchmark of the NFL."

Benchmark? The Bolts? Gold standard? Worth investing in, emotionally and otherwise? What would Buffet do (assuming he gave a damn about the sport and the team)?

Perhaps people have become leery of the Chargers. They went 12-4 two years ago and made the playoffs for the first time in a decade, but then crapped out and regressed to 9-7 last year. As a franchise, the Chargers have made it to just one Super Bowl, losing to San Francisco at the end of the 1994 season.

Perhaps it is the Marty Schottenheimer factor. The Chargers head coach has the fifth-most regular season victories all-time — 195-126-1. But his playoff record in a career dating back to 1984 with four different franchises is just 5-12.

But it is not difficult to understand how and why the Chargers are inspiring confidence. Before beating the surprisingly feisty Raiders 21-14 yesterday they were already leading the league at 33.2 points scored per game. They have superbly talented running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who added to his league-best touchdown total by scoring two more vs. Oakland, to give him 24 for the season. Plus, he threw for another one, keying yet another San Diego late-game comeback. Quarterback Phillip Rivers, who had a clunker of a game by his standards, continues to justify the decision to let Drew Brees leave town as a free agent. Never mind a league awash in good young QBs (Tony Romo, Rex Grossman, etc.), in San Diego they figure Rivers runs deepest and coolest.

In the two games prior to yesterday, the Chargers twice came back from 17-point deficits to win. They are rugged on defence (lead the league in sacks) and have the swagger on offence. What's not to like?

Then again, what's not to like either about the manner in which the Ravens have re-established their own credentials. Their 27-0 victory over the defending champion Pittsburghers yesterday gave them five wins in a row on the way to a 9-2 record. Beware the black birds.

New England? The Patriots merely handled the Chicago Bears 17-13 yesterday in what some people were calling the Super Bowl preview. Is anyone out there ready to tell Tom Brady and Co. they are anything less than deserving of the best in the AFC label?

Then there are the Colts, for whom nothing short of making it to the Super Bowl will be good enough to convince most observers of their claim to fame. They, of course, are no more money in the bank than the next team. Even Buffet — or especially Buffet — would tell you there is no such thing a sure thing.

AJ is very forgiving, so he will not punish you for your blasphemy, but not all of his followers are as perfect. So be careful of how you disparage him, for it is He that brought us the One, and it is he that will bring us the Lombardi.

2. I think now that the Chargers are 9-2 and only a major collapse away from a division title, it's time to praise the man who put this team together, GM A.J. Smith. "You want to quiver and cower and hit it down the middle of the fairway, you'll be 8-8 the rest of your life and never make the Super Bowl,'' Smith said over the phone from -- where else? -- a college scouting trip. His trade of Eli Manning to the Giants on draft day 2004 has set the stage for the Chargers to be good for a long time. San Diego, which took control of the AFC West with a dramatic win at Denver last week and expanded its lead to two games Sunday against the Raiders, is 30-13 since dealing Manning for Philip Rivers and three draft choices -- which the Chargers turned into linebacker Shawne Merriman, kicker Nate Kaeding (second among NFL kickers in scoring) and tackle Roman Oben (who started 24 games before being hurt). "Once Eli and his family said he wouldn't play here, we weren't going to be held hostage by them,'' Smith said last week while on a college scouting trip. "We were going to make a deal to help us win for the long haul.'' Mission accomplished.

You know, if only AJ showed that he cared about his players. If only he treated them as more than commodities, if only he wasn't a heartless, emotionless automaton, he might actually make a good GM.:icon_tease:

You know, if only AJ showed that he cared about his players. If only he treated them as more than commodities, if only he wasn't a heartless, emotionless automaton, he might actually make a good GM.:icon_tease:

Click to expand...

Heh.

AJ should also be jumping for joy every time Rivers throws a TD pass, or leads the Chargers to victory (especially in a comeback), or when Merriman/Castillo make a sack, or when Manumaleuna makes a good catch or block, or when Marcus McNeill flattens somebody.

:yes:

He should also laugh his butt off whenever a negative article or TV story about shEli is done.

AJ should also be jumping for joy every time Rivers throws a TD pass, or leads the Chargers to victory (especially in a comeback), or when Merriman/Castillo make a sack, or when Manumaleuna makes a good catch or block, or when Marcus McNeill flattens somebody.

:yes:

He should also laugh his butt off whenever a negative article or TV story about shEli is done.